Credit: Monica Holder

After a PhD and postdoc in cardiovascular biology, Christina Papke moved into research development. She works at Texas A&M University in College Station, where she assists biomedical faculty members with grant proposals and helps them to form collaborations and identify funding opportunities.

When did you start exploring careers beyond running a lab?

The first and most difficult step was to realize that I did not want to be a principal investigator. In summer 2014, a series of both difficult and good events — a grandparent's death, a friend's wedding, a crime in my apartment complex — left me feeling like a rubber bouncy ball emotionally. It caused me to think, pray — and re-evaluate the direction of my career. I realized that although I enjoyed thinking about science, I could not see myself working in a lab for the next 30-plus years.

How did you learn about your current job?

What was extremely helpful for me was joining the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) and being willing to put myself out there at a conference, not knowing who I might meet. Two people presented on being a grant-writing professional. That required a solid research background, as well as understanding how grants work, communicating with scientists, coordinating events and being an information resource. That was the combination I didn't know I was looking for. I realized that I could take my favourite aspects of research with me.

So the session clinched it for you?

I wouldn't have found this job if I hadn't talked to the presenters. One of them said, “I know a place.” It was a city I hadn't been looking in. I joined AMWA in February 2015, went to the conference in April and was hired in July.

That sounds almost preordained.

One of my mentors said to me, it's like putting out a lot of fishing lines. I was also doing informational interviews and a variety of other things. But during the process, it looked quite messy. My advice is, sometimes you don't know what you're looking for. And that's okay.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. See go.nature.com/kbvz2q for more.